Where were we and where are you?

    Yesterday I recounted an event each of us could potentially face as our faith in Jesus becomes increasingly hated amongst those in the world.  It's not enough to just exist within our world but to actively engage in bringing the Word to those who are perishing.  The quest we are engaged in must be taken very seriously.  The Bible warns us of complacency and especially the urgency needed to bring the Message to all the world.  The Bible also informs us that in the last days people will turn against one another and become witnesses against those who call upon Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  That should include you and I.  When Jesus completed his resurrection and ascension, he fulfilled over 600 prophecies in the Bible.  Paying attention to the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments is pivotal to the transition that will be taking place around us.  It's not a matter of "if" but of "when".  The Lord has tarried so that all whom are predestined should come to know him.  That tarrying will not last forever.  The reality is plain that Christianity will become such an evil in the world's eyes that it will become a capital crime much like it was when Paul (then Saul) was hunting down and imprisoning and killing those who wouldn't recant their faith in Jesus.  Many stood firm and are listed as martyr's for their faith. 
     "There will be wars and rumors of war and yet the end won't come."  "Children will turn against their parents."  We needn't be reminded of the way that the disciples died.  There faith brought them to that crux where they looked forward to being with Jesus more than staying on earth.  Is your faith at that point?  Take this scenario for example.  Christianity is illegal and punishable by death.  You and your family have been arrested for the crime of being a believer.  You are about to be beheaded in front of your family.  Those who are carrying out this execution are backed by the government.  They tell you to recant your faith.  You refuse.  They tell you that if you don't recant they will kill your youngest child who is watching with tears running down their face.  What do you do?  Do you recant and save the life of your child?  Do you watch your child be killed and then your other child and finally your wife before you are executed?  This scenario is not for the faint hearted.  This is a scenario that many will actually face according to the Word.  It may not happen today or next year but the prophecies of the Lord are 100% accurate and this will happen. 
     Remember where we were yesterday with the opening of the trap door of the gallows upon which you were standing?  I stopped the illustration and continue it today.  What transpires in that twinkling of the eye is immense!  The cacophony of the world was all around you.  People were screaming, yelling and both for and against you.  Your family was watching and crying.  The media was in a frenzy and the TV monitors were blaring the whole event to the world.  When you dropped and the noose tightened you went from all of that to complete silence...but only for a moment.  All of the cares and things we attached ourselves to as important were gone in that moment.  What we entered into if we are Christian was first the silence followed by the praise the people were offering up to the King of Kings who sits on the throne.  Total worship, total peace, total joy!  Time now ceases to exist. Temptation is gone.  Guilt and regret have no place in heaven.  The Lord Jesus himself comes to you and brings you into the presence of God and the saints who have gone on before.  He takes away your tears as the prophecy tells us. 
     Today, your and my life may be required of us.  They were required of us when we were saved and so much more now.  We are required to die to self.  Dying to self means that Jesus is more precious to us than anything in our lives here on earth.  More important than family, friends, and yes, even our enemies.  To have Christ alive in us, we must be dead to the world.  When we are dead to the world, the transition to heaven is a blessed event.  Those who are believers around us are in the same situation.  Will they, in their living for Christ, die for you?  Would you die for them?  Where were we and where are you?  Have your children been raised on the truth of God's word and ready to meet Jesus more than recant their faith to save your life?  How about your spouse or extended family?  Your neighbor who lives mere yards away from you?  Even your enemies need to know Jesus.  What do you pray for?  All of these questions make your Christian life a choice out of love.  It's alw